Awakening the Bear! (2nd Edition)

The year is 1941. Germany has defeated Poland, Denmark, Norway, and France with ease. In the morning hours of June 22 over 3 million German soldiers attacked Soviet forces along a 1600 kilometer front heralding the beginning of Operation Barbarossa. Complete surprise was achieved and the Germans struck deep into Soviet territory. The Germans thought that the Soviets would fold like a house of cards. Their officer cadre had been massacred by Stalin, training was poor, and morale low. The Blitzkrieg catches the Soviets by surprise and they lose over 1.75 million men in the first two months alone.

The Germans are unstoppable, their Panzers pushing to the very gates of Moscow. But then winter hit and the cold drained the German’s resources, strength, and morale. The Soviets began striking back in the dead of winter and the momentum began to shift in their favor through the following spring. The bear had awoken!

Awakening the Bear! - Russia 1941-42 takes you to the eastern front during Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of Russia. Many consider this time period to be the birth of modern warfare tactics that continue to be used and perfected by today's modern armies.

Much effort went into distinguishing the units in the game by highlighting their historical strengths and weaknesses. For example, each tank defense rating takes into account relative armor thickness, armor slope deflection percentage, speed, size, targeting mechanics, and crew training. All these factors are represented in an easy to learn target number system.

The included firefights, most of which you can play in about an hour, are designed to depict the pivotal points in a given battle. You can learn enough of the game to play the first scenario in 10 minutes thanks to the programmed instruction approach used in the full-color rulebook.

The game also features 3 to 4 multi-player firefights and optional rules for solitaire play.

Features:

• Includes upgraded maps with full 3D graphics, revealing a level of detail seldom seen before in a wargame.
  
• The unparalleled detail of the 1" counters now include the armor piercing FP values for foot units, the same as the counters in Storms of Steel and Price of Honour. New tank and infantry units include Protze PaK36, PaK38, Panzer Jaeger 35R, Somua S35, B-2 Flamethrower Panzer, Sdkfz 232, NKVD squads, OT-26 Flamethrower Tankett, Zis-30 Mobile Artillery and more!
  
• The Programmed Teaching Rulebook has been upgraded to the standards of the newest version 2 published with Storms of Steel.
  
• The firefight book includes a new historical overview, many of the online published firefights, and a new campaign series.

The award winning game of Awakening the Bear includes:

• 5 - 15x19 inch geomorphic mounted map boards that integrate with the maps of all other CoH games.
  
• 196 - easy to read 1" square die cut counters that include tanks such as the Pz IIf, Pz IIIe, Pz IVd, KV1a, KV2a, T-34a and T-34b, Flak18 guns, Mortars, HMGs, Pioneers, SMG squads, Anti-Tank guns, armored cars and much more!
  
• 4 - player track sheets and 2 - summary sheets
  
• 1 - action card deck of 55 cards that add a special fog of war to the game by including specialized weapons such as flame throwers, land mines, grenades and more.
  
• A firefight book with 2, 3 and 4 player games with solo play options.
  
• Their award winning 11 page programmatic learning rule book. Read a few pages, then play some game before continuing.